Sunday, December 22, 2024
12/22/2024
The Regional Mental Health Awareness Training Grant, housed in Pontotoc County, OK, will serve the populations of Pontotoc, Johnston, & Murray counties (total population of 63,442) and the surrounding region by providing mental health awareness training, promoting resources & supports, establishing referral systems, & further developing collaborative partnerships to respond to mental health issues in this region. This tri-county area covers 1,789 square miles with a population breakdown of 38,284 in Pontotoc County, 14,073 in Murray County, & 11,085 in Johnston County. This region is primarily rural & within this service area, there are 2 institutions of higher education: East Central University in Pontotoc County & Murray State College in Johnston County, with student populations of 4,428 & 2,398 respectively. The RMHAT grant aims to train a minimum of 1,250 adults within this area in Youth & Adult Mental Health First Aid. This combined with the 1,376 existing First Aiders in the region, will result in a ratio of 1 First Aider for every 25 individuals in the tri-county region or 1-2 First Aiders per square mile. Furthermore, special populations of focus will include individuals who regularly interact with or serve veterans and their families, individuals with disabilities, Native Americans, and at-risk youth, due to the high number of these populations in the region & these individuals will account for a minimum of 50% of individuals trained. Training will also target law enforcement to improve their capacity in responding to mental health issues. This tri-county region was selected due to past success with regional initiatives & due to identified needs in this region. Goal 1: Increase awareness & capacity of adults in Pontotoc, Johnston & Murray Counties to respond to & interact with individuals experiencing mental health or behavioral health issues. Objective 1A: Maintain 7 MHFA Instructors throughout grant period (9/30/2026). Objective 1B: Train one additional MHFA Instructor in both adult and youth MHFA (9/30/22). Objective 1C: Train 1,250 MH First Aiders in region by 9/30/2026 at the rate of 250 per year, with at least 60% of First Aiders identified as persons who regularly interact with or serve Veterans and their families, individuals with disabilities, &/or Native Americans. Objective 1D: Increase First Aider ability to identify common mental health symptoms by 20% by 9/30/2026 as measured by MHFA training pre/post surveys. Goal 2: Provide outreach & engagement with organizations & community citizens to promote positive behavioral health. Objective 2A: Provide at least two educational engagement opportunities for organizations & general citizens to increase knowledge of mental health issues, warning signs, & resources by the end of each grant year (9/30/2022, 9/30/2023, 9/30/2024, 9/30/2025, 9/30/2026). Goal 3: Increase knowledge & access to mental health or behavioral health services for individuals & families. Objective 3A: Provide 100% of MH First Aiders trained with resource & referral guide for applicable service area throughout grant period (9/30/2026). Objective 3B: Track referrals by MH First Aiders via monthly referral surveys with a minimum of 1,000 referrals made in total, at the rate of 200 per year. (11/15/2021, 12/15/2021, etc). Goal 4: Increase community partnerships & collaboration of mental health programs. Objective 4A: Develop leadership committee of at least 10 individual &/or agency partners from mental health & related sectors by 12/30/2021. Objective 4B: Host quarterly meetings of committee to address needs, gaps, & progress toward goals by 12/31, 3/31, 6/30, & 9/30 yearly. Objective 4C: Collaborate with mental health service partners to conduct yearly update of needs assessment by end of each grant year (9/30/2022, 9/30/2023, 9/30/2024, 9/30/2025, 9/30/2026).
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).